Breaking Boundaries
by SandQuills
Summary: (HIATUS) Rose Weasley had grown up with everything she ever wanted- two loving parents, a large caring family and the brains to beat anyone. So why did it bother her so much that a certain Scorpius Malfoy challenged everything she ever believed in? Why did his opinions of her make her so uncertain of herself?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**

 **This story follows on from the epilogue of HPDH, all characters belong to the brilliant JK Rowling and there are only a few characters of mine thrown in there. For the most part, I own nothing.**

 **Please enjoy and review if you have the time, any constructive criticism will be greatly appreciated, this is my first story.**

 **Regards,**

 **SQs**

CHAPTER ONE - First Year

The scarlet Hogwarts train lay gleaming through the swirling fog and steam of platform nine and three quarters. Rose Weasley, a small, freckled-face girl with slightly untamed auburn curls held firmly onto her mother's hand as her father hauled her school trunk into the luggage compartment.

'They should be here any moment now,' Ron said as he straightened up and mumbled under his breath 'trust Ginny to always be late.'

'Ronald, they'll be here soon' chastised Hermione. 'How are you feeling Rose?'

'A little nervous.' She answered quietly and fidgeted with her black school robes that she had been wearing since home.

'Look, there they are' Ron announced and started beckoning the Potters to come and join them.

While the parents engaged in small talk and exchanging fond "it seems like it was only yesterday"s Rose pulled Albus aside and surveyed his worried face which had turned a slight shade of green.

"How are you feeling Al?"

"Yeah… alright I guess, you?"

"Alright?!" Interjected James as he barked a laugh, "Rose you shoulda seen him this morning, he was having a nervous breakdown over breakfast."

"Sod off James, I was not!"

Amidst their squabble, Rose took the time to scan around the platform. There were parents everywhere sharing the same bittersweet expression that her parents wore. A mixture of pride and sadness that their children were going away for months to attend Hogwarts. People who passed her family and the Potter's by were either staring or sharing small talk with her father and uncle. She noticed with a slight flush that she was the only one already wearing her black school robes, as everyone else was still in their muggle disguises.

"Ah, there he is." Rose looked up at her father and saw him glaring off into the distance. The fog and steam cleared for a moment and Rose caught sight of a small family where the father and son shared the same almost white blond hair and pointed chin.

"So that's little Scorpius. Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains."

Rose didn't quite hear her mother's chidings as she locked eyes with Scorpius Malfoy. Although they shared the same piercing grey eyes, unlike his father's slight sneer and uptight posture, Scorpius seemed nervous and on the verge of being sick judging from his pained expression and how closely he was standing to his mother, a beautiful brunette woman with dark brown hair. When he saw her, it looked as though the corners of his mouth were moving up to form a sneer. From what she heard of Draco Malfoy and his family from her father, Rose felt like she already knew what Scorpius would be like. Flitting her eyes away and putting on an expression of indifference, Rose allowed herself to be ushered onto the train by her mother as the whistle sounded.

The carriages on the train were packed with students roaming around looking for their friends or racing to find an empty one. Rose knew that Louis was bound to have saved her and Albus a seat somewhere and she pushed and shoved through groups of students congregating in the halls, swapping stories of their summer.

"Rose!" A door slid open abruptly on her left and an arm yanked her inside by her robes.

"Thought I spotted your flaming head."

Her sandy-haired cousin Louis grinned at her from inside the carriage where he had already made himself comfortable- his robes were strung over the plush seats of the carriage and he had already accumulated a small pile of treats from the trolley lady. Droobles, pumpkin pasties, Every Flavour Beans, chocolate frogs, fizzing whizzbees and even her uncle's familiar canary creams were amongst the treats that were making her mouth water.

"Ah Al, just in time!"

Rose sat in the compartment reminiscing on her and her two cousins' childhood and sharing their worries of starting their first year at Hogwarts.

"Don worwy so mu Al" Louis said through a mouth full of droobles. "As log as we ar togeda, it will be fine!" He finished, spraying the opposite seat with crumbs and spit. "Oop, sorry"

Although slightly disgusted but not at all surprised at Louis' eating manner, Rose thought he was right. She can get through anything with these two by her side, her whole family was in Gryffindor including Fred and James, even Teddy! Satisfied with the reassurance that she was not going to face all aspects of Hogwarts alone, she relaxed a little and enjoyed her cousin's animated chatter as they sped towards Hogwarts. 

* * *

Rose gave a loud huff of annoyance as she stood in the Great hall with the other first years. Her trembling and nervousness were instead replaced by impatience as she stared at the sorting hat who looked pensive perched on top of a certain white-blond head. _'Just say it already, everyone already knows he's a Slytherin'_ she thought savagely. It had been the longest so far that the sorting hat sat on top of a student's head and Rose wondered why. Maybe it enjoyed creating suspense. There was no other reason for it to be taking so long. Rose's eyes lingered around the Great Hall, again captivated by the floating candles and night sky ceiling. She caught sight James and Fred who gave her a thumbs up and looked pointedly at the front of the hall with a mocking scowl. Smiling at the prospect of how much fun it will be to share a common room with all her cousins, Rose looked back at the stool in front of the teacher's table just in time for the Sorting Hat to announce quietly after what seemed to be a sigh.

"Slytherin."

The hall erupted into polite, scattered applause as Scorpius Malfoy removed the sorting hat, gave it back to Professor Longbottom and walked over to the Slytherin table with his head held high. Rose caught Louis attention and they both rolled their eyes, exasperated and anxious to get started on the infamous beginning of term feast. Rose tried to catch Albus' attention without drawing attention to herself but he remained staring stoically at the marbled floors.

Before Rose knew it, Albus was called upon by Professor Longbottom who gave him a beaming smile as he passed him the weathered old Sorting Hat. Albus looked a lot more nervous than he led on. Rose waited with baited breath as he looked conflicted sitting on the stool, his brow furrowed and his bottom lip in his mouth. He locked eyes with her and his expression softened. Smiling, Rose prepared her hands to lead the applause with Gryffindor when suddenly-

"SLYTHERIN!"

Rose felt her jaw drop as Albus hastily took off the hat, quickly walked over to the far end of the Hall avoiding eye contact with everyone, and sat next to Malfoy. Even Professor McGonagall, the wizened headmistress was applauding less enthusiastically and Professor Longbottom had his mouth agape.

 _Slytherin? This wasn't how things were meant to go. He's a Potter. How could he belong in Slytherin?_ The house that produced so many Dark wizards in her parent's time that wanted her uncle dead. Her thoughts were interrupted by Louis' name being called. She watched his sandy-blond head make its way through the throng of first-years and perch himself on the stool. Professor Longbottom placed the hat on top of his head for barely a second.

"Gryffindor!" The seam of the Sorting Hat's mouth proclaimed.

Rose clapped along with the other students and teachers in the hall as her cousin walked towards the scarlet and gold table, sliding in between Fred and James. _See, this was how things were meant to be. We belong in Gryffindor._ She broke out of her thoughts when Professor Longbottom cleared his throat and repeated her name.

Pushing through the crowd and scampering up the stairs, Rose was still caught up in her thoughts and conflictions when Neville passed her the hat and said.

"Alright Rosie?"

Rose nodded and put on the Sorting Hat which slipped and covered her eyes. In the darkness she heard the silky and slightly gravelly voice of the Sorting Hat speaking only to her.

"Another Weasley eh?"

 _What did you say to Albus and why is he in Slytherin?_

"That's none of your business young lady and besides, it's about you right now. You've got a great mind here, lots of knowledge, a thirst to prove yourself, cleverness… shall we put you in Ravenclaw?"

 _No…_ Rose thought. _It's tradition for a Weasley to be in Gryffindor. My whole family is in there. Well, at least my whole family was in there._

"Tradition eh? What makes you think I care about tradition? It seems a lot of you are worried about that this year. You possess a lot of stubbornness, that's for sure. Wit, you have. Intelligence? Oh yes. But bravery?"

Rose scowled at the hat's remark about her, and yanked up the brim of the hat so she could see and thought _'It has to be Gryffindor.'_ She looked towards Albus who was watching her with a sad expression and a slight hint of guilt. Scorpius sat next to him and was calmly staring at her with a look of disinterest and boredom.

"Alright… But you have a lot to prove of yourself…

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Rose couldn't even enjoy the feast properly at the Gryffindor table when she had this feeling of confusion, betrayal and sadness for her cousin Albus in the pit of her stomach. Not even the jokes or banter of her cousins Fred could lift her mood, especially when they were sitting with an equally moody Louis and James. In the summers when they were younger, Albus, Rose and Louis used to imagine all of the fun things they could do together as Gryffindor's, especially since Albus was set to inherit his father's invisibility cloak when he started school. They dreamed of roaming the halls, pranking Peeves, scaring other students and visiting Hagrid. They talked about playing hide and seek in the common room, studying together (which Albus and Louis begrudgingly agreed to), throwing parties, cheering on James and eventually Albus in the Quidditch. It was going to be so different now. Slytherin and Gryffindor were fierce rivals and Rose didn't know how she felt about competing against Albus, not with him.

She felt a pang of guilt upon seeing James stab a roasted potato around on his plate. Her feeling of betrayal didn't quite measure up to what James must be feeling. He and Albus spent endless summers practicing Quidditch so that they could both play together on the Gryffindor team and secure the cup. James invested all of his time into teaching Albus to fly and throw around a quaffle so that Albus could make the team in second year, maybe even first. And now, as Rose sat quietly in the Great Hall full of other student's excited chatter and ravenous eating, she looked over to the Slytherin table to see that Albus and Scorpius were becoming fast friends.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/n: This chapter's a bit of a long one (a treat for some of you!) but I really wanted to introduce some key characters and develop Rose further. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it and leave a review if you'd like! It really pushes me to keep writing. I'd like to thank again those who have taken an interest into my story, it means a lot :)**

 **\- SQ**

* * *

CHAPTER TWO- Second Year

"What do you mean they've transferred in?" asked Louis scandalously over breakfast.

"Transferred in," cut in James a couple of seats down. "As in they studied elsewhere for their first year and now McGonagall's let them in 'cause of Luna. That's what mum said."

He had his cheek resting in one hand and the other was lazily spooning porridge into his slack jaw as he slowly read a letter Aunt Ginny had written to her sons.

"But… So they just waltzed in? They didn't have to sit any exams? Go through the stress we went through last year?"

"By the way Al, mum says she's sent the underwear you forgot to pack in the post with Harold," said James, smug with the satisfaction of embarrassing his little brother.

"Shove off, James," muttered Albus. His ears turned pink upon hearing the sniggers of the rest of Gryffindor. He gave Rose a pointed look and pouted.

"Come have your first breakfast back at Hogwarts with Gryffindor you said, 'it'll be fun,' you said." Albus shot a glance over at his own table where Scorpius was happily enjoying his breakfast without the presence of an embarrassing older brother.

Choosing to ignore her cousin's piteous mood, Rose turned to her left.

"Yeah Louis, so, what's the big deal? We haven't seen them in ages and it'll be exciting to have classes with them." she sighed.

She was busy trying to see what classes she had this year and with which House, since it changed yearly to promote inter-house relationships.

"But… It's not fair!" said Louis, making a show of banging his fist against the table. "Who allowed that?"

"Well, I suppose it would have been Professor Mcgonagall," answered Rose from behind her timetable. "She did teach Aunt Luna and she must have allowed for special consideration or something. You know how Aunt Luna likes to explore the world with the family."

"Special consideration?" Louis repeated, raising his eyebrows. "Does that mean I could've skipped a few years on account of my father being mauled in the Astronomy Tower?"

Rose shot him a disapproving look and he guilty lowered his eyebrows. He knew he was being unreasonable and Rose had always grown up on Hermione's disapproval of using their parent's past to justify what they wanted in their life.

"It's just not fair Rose, all of our cousins fancied them growing up, they might be ten times more charming now!"

At that moment, the heavy doors of the Great Hall opened to reveal the very subjects of their discussion.

"I mean, just look at them!" Louis half-whispered, half-shouted.

Lysander and Lorcan Scamander were an odd, yet charming set of twins from what Rose could remember from childhood. They were identical in physical appearance, with their caramel-coloured skin and bright silvery eyes. She recalled the Summer they spent together at the Potters when Rose was around seven years old and she remembered that she, Albus and the twins had dug up half of the Potter's garden in search of Fire-Breathing Snails, much to Aunt Ginny's dismay. The twins had always inspired a great sense of adventure and wonder in Rose, a feeling she didn't realise she'd missed until she saw their mischievous smiles again.

She wanted to get up and wave her childhood friends over but she found herself in the midst of excited whispers and curious glances by her fellow second years - mainly girls, directed at them. Slightly taken aback and not wanting to draw attention to herself by going up to the two, she let the twins walk through the Great Hall and separate into seats at two different tables.

"Oh, seems like Lysander's in Hufflepuff and Lorcan's in Ravenclaw," commented Albus, forgetting his shame and instead craning his neck over Rose to get a better look at the two. "I wonder how they were sorted."

"Well whatever they're in, I don't like them one bit," said Louis, aware of all the girls who were now exchanging excited giggles and sneaking furtive looks at them. Despite being separated by Houses, Lorcan and Lysander were facing outwards and talking to each other rather than addressing their fellow housemates.

"Don't worry Lou, everyone will find out that they're both looney and they'll forget about them soon enough," reasoned Albus, taking a sip of his pumpkin juice and poking his tongue out at Rose who shot him an angry look.

"They're not looney, Al. And besides, we haven't seen them since we were kids, they could be totally different now!"

"Or," cut in Albus as he began standing up and gathering his things for first period. "They could be exactly the same and start recruiting people to dig up the bloody Quidditch Pitch in search of Crumple-Horned-Short-Winged-Red-Backed Beetles!" he said, scrunching up his nose.

"Don't judge them before you've spoken to them again Al, we've got Herbology with the Hufflepuff's next and I'm going to tell Lysander you said hi, and that we should hang out again since they're new, and that you'd like to show them around," said Rose smugly, knowing that her cousin easily succumbed to guilt.

"Fine," he answered gruffly. "Later Lou, don't get too jealous of them, you'll get wrinkles."

Despite his words, Louis continued to glare daggers at the twins.

* * *

"Alright class, as it's your first day back, I thought we'd do something fun," announced Professor Longbottom.

He was walking briskly towards the chatting group of second year students. In front of him, he levitated a crate of brown burlap sacks.

Rose was standing in line with the other Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs outside the greenhouse and smiled at Professor Longbottom when he passed her. The class followed him into the sunlit room where tangles of plants were dangling from the roof, growing up the walls and weaving around the two large tables situated in the middle of the greenhouse.

They all gathered around as Professor Longbottom placed the mysterious crates into the center of one table and started to explain their lesson.

Rose tried to get Lysander's attention from across the table but he was instead off in his own world, examining the greenhouse with his bright blue eyes and whispering under his breath all the names of the plants that he knew. Mildred Maple and Fiona Sun were beside him and she could see their dreamy expressions as they admired how knowledgeable he was of the plants, but more so how handsome he looked whilst doing it.

She heard a scoff from Louis who was standing beside her. Rose recalled her cousin had once referred to Lysander's obvious admirers as the 'fittest girls in Hufflepuff'.

"Now, can anyone tell me what often guards these types of plants?" Professor Longbottom asked the class who seemed to shy away from his gaze as most, like Rose, weren't paying attention.

"Bowtruckles," answered Lysander, bending over to examine the burlap sacks.

"Excellent, Lysander! Ten points to Hufflepuff!"

Lysander continued examining the sacks as if he didn't hear the praise directed at him and Rose felt the slightest hint of frustration since it was usually her job to answer the question and score house points.

"Now, everybody pair off with someone you haven't really spoken to much last year so you can get to know them, grab a burlap sack and follow me!" said Professor Longbottom.

The class started making their way to the marked area near the Forbidden Forest that Professor Longbottom had prepared for their lesson.

Rose fidgeted nervously with her school cloak as she tried to come up with a way to ask Lysander if he remembered her without it being overly awkward. Behind her, Louis was already asking Fiona Sun to be his partner and she shyly agreed, even though she had been eyeing Lysander all lesson.

Rose took a tentative step towards the bright-eyed boy when he suddenly turned to her.

"Rose Weasley, would you like to be my partner? You look like you would be good at talking to Bowtruckles," he said casually, as if they had been classmates for years.

"I… Um, of course Lysander," she answered. She was slightly confused yet relieved that he had spoken to her so casually, avoiding the fuss of awkward reintroductions.

The lesson went by in a blur.

Rose and Lysander had made a great team in terms of feeding their lice, assortment of bugs and larvae from the burlap sacks as offerings to the Bowtruckles. By doing so, they could take samples of seeds and leaves from the plants that they guarded for the greenhouse.

Lysander had struck up conversation with her about her parents, about his parents and what they did whilst in South Africa. The Scamander family had been tracking the Mirage-Rhinoceros across the continent, Lysander said with great enthusiasm that he thought he actually saw it appear once during their trip. At the end of the lesson, Rose and Lysander had gathered the most herbs and seeds out of all of their classmates and had returned to Professor Longbottom who rewarded them with twenty house points each.

"So Lysander, how were you and Lorcan sorted if you guys came late?" Rose asked as the two made their way back up the grounds and towards the Great Hall.

"Professor Mcgonagall asked me and Lorc to come into her office first thing once we got back from South Africa. She did an impromptu sorting ceremony right then and there. Lorc always wanted to be in Ravenclaw and I always knew I'd be in Hufflepuff, from what Dad's told me."

"Didn't you guys want to be together though? It sucked for Louis and I to be away from Al when he was sorted into Slytherin." she said sadly.

"No, not really" he answered as they climbed the weathered steps into the front doors of the castle."We knew it was time to be separated. I assume now is the time for us to be individuals, that what mum said when she found out our Houses. She was really happy for us."

Lysander looked into Roses eyes and she could see the inquisitive and kind nature he possessed. He definitely had changed from when they were younger. He was no longer as loud and fiercely adventurous as he had been. Now he was more thoughtful and subdued, but Rose hoped that he still held his adventurous streak. Feeling an unfamiliar blush creep up her cheek from their eye contact, Rose broke his gaze and looked away but she already found herself already under the gaze of another pair of silvery eyes. These ones were cold as ice by comparison.

"I'd hate to break up the pleasant conversation, but Albus is looking for you Weasley." Drawled Scorpius Malfoy who was leaning against a broom cupboard with his arms crossed.

"Tell him to look for me then, instead of sending prat's like you to invade my space." She snapped back.

Scorpius Malfoy had been nothing but aloof to her when Albus was around last year and when Albus wasn't around, he was down right rude. Rose reasoned that it was he who had a problem with her but she had a feeling he knew about the many arguments with she had with Albus about his choice in friends, which included, or rather, was solely about Scorpius.

"Touchy today, aren't we Red. I thought seeing your long lost lover friend would lighten your mood at least a little bit from it's usual sour-ness." he replied back with a smirk, Rose felt her face turning pink due to his comment and it was probably because Albus had told him that Rose had had an innocent crush on Lysander when they were children. She made a mental note to get him back for that.

She looked over at Lysander who seemed to have not noticed Malfoy's presence at all, as he was too busy chatting to the Fat Friar who had floated through the floor and up into the hallway.

"What is with you Malfoy? Why are you always being so insufferable?" She heatedly whispered through gritted teeth so that Lysander couldn't hear them.

"Me? Take a look in the mirror Red. Once you can get past that big bushy mane of yours, you'll see that the insufferable person here is you. And I bet you can't even look for more than ten seconds at your face, I know I can't."

He finished with one of his signature sneers, the very same one that once adorned his father's face when she had first spotted them on the Platform last year.

Rose spluttered with anger at his insult and cursed him for putting her in a foul mood when it was only lunch time.

"Whatever, Malfoy!" she retorted intelligently.

"He only wanted to tell you that you're welcome to come fly with us during lunch to prepare for our lesson this afternoon, but I'll tell him you're busy with _Lysander_. He'll understand." he mocked, smirking as he turned away from the fuming redhead and headed back out towards the grounds.

"You're just jealous that we're friends!" she called after lamely, not knowing what else to say at his retreating blonde head.

"We're friends?" cut in Lysander curiously. Rose felt embarrassed at her statement as it may have seemed a bit presumptuous, seeing as though they had only been talking for that double Herbology lesson.

"Yeah… Is that okay with you?" She asked nervously, turning to face him and looking down at the stone floor of the entrance to the castle.

"Why wouldn't it be?" He replied and cracked into a large friendly smile.

Flying class that afternoon with an ageing, yet still striking Madam Hooch was one of the only lessons in Hogwarts that allowed all houses to learn together.

Professor McGonagall had made the change when she was appointed Headmistress. She believed it built up a certain 'friendly inter-house rivalry' - of which Rose couldn't disagree with more. Madam Hooch had to call in her two sons as supervisors for each lesson to handle the large amount of students. As for the 'friendly-rivalry"' she thought it was disastrous to have so many people learn to fly together, seeing as some where more adept to flying than others.

She surveyed the fellow second years who were standing in line with their brooms at their feet. The only reason she enjoyed this class was because she was able to have it with Louis and Albus, and because she loved flying.

"Listen up class." Madam Hooch seemed to draw the attention of every single student as her commanding voice and hawk-like eyes were far too intimidating to disobey. She paced up and down the long line of students, one hand was enclosed around her whistle and the other was behind her back.

"Today, we are splitting the class into three groups. Based on your performance last year, you will be sorted into one of three groups. 'Basic' group will be with me and I will teach you how to mount a broom and hover until you've perfected it. 'Intermediate' will be with my son Reginald and he will supervise those of you adept enough to fly a broomstick through a series of obstacle courses. My other son Benjamin will be taking care of those who think themselves as ready to try out for their House Quidditch team later this year."

To Rose's left, Albus was elbowing Scorpius in the ribs excitedly at the prospect of them being able to try out for the Slytherin team later that year. Rose felt jealousy rise from her stomach as it was always her that Albus would usually share his Quidditch related excitements to, ever since James had made the team and Rose and Albus swore they wanted to be Gryffindor's star Seeker and Chaser, respectively.

She looked over at Louis who was shielding his pale complexion from the sun with his hand and instead caught sight of the two Scamander twins who were almost identical physically, yet acted a lot differently. Lorcan was smiling smoothly to the Ravenclaw girls who had flanked his sides and Lysander was standing opposite him in the line, crouching down and patting the grass.

Madam Hooch's sharp whistle brought Rose's attention back to the lesson. She quickly picked up her broom in one hand and followed Benjamin who was marching the more experienced flyers into the middle of the Quidditch pitch while his mother and brother marched the other students to the opposite ends of the large pit.

Despite her feelings of jealousy, Rose was extremely excited at the prospect of flying again at Hogwarts. Her father had taught her to fly during the summers back home and had proudly commented that she was almost as good as her Aunt Ginny was at her age. Rose had always loved the feeling of being in the air and she was excited to finally have the freedom of playing supervised Quidditch matches with other people her own age. Of course back home, Louis, Rose and Albus played matches against all their other cousins but it would be different here. She would be able to show her peers that she wasn't just intelligent, but she was also a talented-

"Seekers, stand over here" grumbled Benjamin. He was a squat, curly-haired man with a small goatee that exaggerated his round face. He had the same piercing eyes as his mother but instead of looking intimidating and graceful, he just looked plain odd.

Rose moved confidently over to the ringed area he marked in the grass with his wand. She moved along with Lorcan Scamander, her roommate Beatrice Bell, two slytherin girls Grecia Matthews and Florence Wells, and some Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff boys she didn't know too well. She surveyed her competition and thought she would fair well against them as she remembered how they flew last year when they were all learning, the only one she wasn't sure about was Lorcan who moved closer to her when she spotted her.

"Rose Weasley. It's a pleasure to see your pretty face again, it's been far too long," he said smoothly, propping his broomstick up and leaning slightly on it. He shoot her a bedazzling, sly smile that differed immensely to his twin's friendly and innocent one earlier.

"L-Lorcan," she stuttered, blushing from his compliment that seemed to come out of nowhere, "how… have you been?" she asked lamely.

"I can't believe this Red, both brothers? In one day?" came that same drawl behind her, instantly setting her hair on end. He always seemed to be popping up at the most inopportune moments in her life, she thought bitterly to herself.

"Scorpius Malfoy right?" Asked Lorcan Scamander interestedly, saving Rose from having to dignify herself with a response. Lorcan chose to ignore Malfoy's comment and extended his hand and firmly shook Malfoy's. Rose could see them both wincing in pain at the other's tight grip.

"So, we seem to all be hoping to try out for Seeker" commented Rose in an attempt to ease the tension between the two boys and also mask her annoyance at the blond-haired git.

"Seems that way," answered Malfoy who was lazily flicking dust off of one of the tidiest school brooms that were kept in storage. Rose looked down at her own broomstick, a Comet 480 that had probably seem better days, the twigs were unkempt and the varnish of the handle had been completely rubbed off.

"Alright so, Chasers, you are all going to be taking turns one by one to score past the Keepers, Beaters you're going to be working with one of our older bludgers and your own bats in pairs and Seekers, you're all going to be chasing after this guy." He held tightly between his forefinger and thumb a golden snitch that glinted in the sunlight.

Rose gripped her broom along with the rest of the Seekers as Albus yelled out "Good luck Scorp and Rose!" from his own circle of Chaser-hopefuls.

She wished Louis was behind her so she could have moral support, but he still had his priorities on Fiona who had not quite mastered her flying. Instead of cheering on his cousins, he was happily pretending to be at a Basic level on the far end of the Quidditch pitch.

"Everyone else get ready and form lines," Benjamin announced to the rest of the class who were watching the Seekers mount. "Seekers will be heading off first after the Snitch, which I might add is new and very fast. You'll have my personal recommendation to your Head of House for anyone who can even get close to it, let alone catch it."

Rose braced herself against the seat of the broom and felt that the cushioning charm could do with a bit of a refresher, but her heart hammering in her chest blocked out everything else. She didn't know why she was so nervous - she was an excellent flier. Perhaps she was a little irked that Albus and Scorpius were so friendly and that she hadn't been able to be around Albus enough for them to talk about Quidditch and tryouts, especially since they would be on different teams if they both made it.

Feeling the determination rise in her chest, she looked over at Scorpius who was looking intently at the Snitch which had been released from Benjamin's grasp and was zipping in all directions. Its silvery wings were barely visible against the clear sky, the only sign of it was that it occasionally glinted in the sunlight. He had his bottom lip in his mouth and his brow was furrowed in concentration.

"Admiring the view Weasley? Too bad all you'll see in the sky is the back of my head as I get the Snitch before you," he said confidently, smirking while his eyes were still trained on the Snitch.

Rose scoffed, trust Malfoy to be overly cocky. She had to get the Snitch before he did, she had to prove to Albus and everyone just how good she could be. Above that, she had to prove that Scorpius was wrong about her. She could be more than just brainy, or 'nerdy' as he once referred to her.

With a sharp sounding of Benjamin's whistle, Rose took off the Quidditch pitch with a burst of speed.

She revelled in how the wind whipped her hair about, how her robes were billowing and how magical Hogwarts looked from this height. She had missed the view since last year's flying lessons. Hogwart's castle looked even grander and brilliant from this angle, she could see the many greenhouses where Professor Longbottom was no doubt planting the seeds they gathered earlier. She saw owls perched in the windows of the owlery, she could see smoke pouring out of the chimney of Hagrid's hut, and could see him leading Fang Jr. around the outskirts of the forest.

For a moment, Rose forgot about the task on hand and was too busy enjoying the sensations of being in the air, being free, when suddenly a flash of green and blonde zipped past her, almost knocking her off her broom. ' _The Snitch! Scorpius!'_ she remembered, and quickly spun in a loop-de-loop in the air and sped after Scorpius who was chasing the fluttering snitch.

Left, right, down, swerve right, up. Rose was determined to follow Scorpius in the air and together the two second years performed difficult maneuvers to stay on the path of the Snitch. She could feel that they were rising higher and higher into the air and closer to the Forbidden Forest as the yells from her classmates below grew more distant. It was now neck and neck between her and Scorpius, she could feel her shoulder occasionally bumping against his as they swerved left, then right, then down.

"Your ghastly mane is getting in my line of vision red!" she heard him yell amongst the wind that was whipping about her face.

Rose only had eyes for the Snitch that was now inches away from her grasp. Her fingers were getting numb from the cold afternoon air and the sun was in her face but she was determined to be the one smirking smugly at Scorpius. The two second year's hurtled further and further into the canopy of the Forbidden Forest. Rose knew that they were bound to get in trouble for being off school grounds but Malfoy's taunts were egging her on. Branches whipped and ripped at her robes, scratching her skin. The two first years weaved in and out of trees until finally, the Snitch was close enough for Rose to launch herself off of her broom and grab it.

Suddenly, the Snitch dived down towards the Forest floor and Rose found herself diving after it with both hands off her broom.

* * *

"It's a miracle they didn't die, Professor, they landed in the Forbidden Forest!" said a voice somewhere in the distant, Rose could hear the distinct sound of the wheels of a trolley being pushed.

' _Where am I?'_ Rose pried open her eyes and saw Madam Pomfrey, the withered school Matron tending to her arms which felt heavy and leaden although they weren't in casts.

"Broken bones, cuts and scrapes up and down her arms and a severe concussion, honestly Professor Mcgonagall, Quidditch is just too dangerous and you're allowing second years to join!" Madam Pomfrey was bustling about Rose's bed and she realised she must be in the hospital wing. Which means she must have hurt herself going after the Snitch.

Rose opened her eyes wider and focused on the room around her, Professor McGonagall was sitting in between her and another bed with a worried look on her face and she seemed to swell with anger when she realised Rose was awake.

"Miss Weasley, I hope you're not going to make a habit out of breaking school rules and getting yourself hurt," she said, pursing her lips but laying a caring hand on Rose's beside. "I've already called in your parent's so we can have a chat about what happened this afternoon. I will not be chasing after you for your safety like I did with your parents and uncle."

Rose looked sadly down at herself, she saw the faint marks of scratches that Madam Pomfrey healed all along her arms which must have been from the trees. She wondered how she got out of there when she remembered that Scorpius Malfoy was with her.

She looked to the bed next to her and saw, with a pang of guilt, Scorpius propped up onto a pillow, his eyes closed and looking almost peaceful as he slept. His arms had the same scratches and he also had a large, pink gash on his cheek that Madam Pomfrey was now tending to.

"You're lucky Mr. Malfoy was there with you, you had fainted from breaking both arms and your ankle and Mr. Malfoy was able fly down and break your fall and send up red sparks for help before passing out himself. You're also lucky that Hagrid had been doing his rounds of the grounds as well, otherwise you'd never been found." McGonagall said severely, standing up and fixing her robes into place.

Rose was lost for words, not knowing how to reply to the disappointed Headmistress. ' _Had it even been worth it?'_ She looked around for any sign of the Snitch,

' _Did I even catch it? Did he catch it?'_

"I believe this belongs to you," Professor McGonagall said, passing Rose the Golden Snitch which seemed to hum quietly in the palm of the Headmistresses hand.

"I have to congratulate you on your determination Miss Weasley, but what you did was reckless and foolish. Professor Gordon has been contacted and he will be speaking you tomorrow morning as he is the Head of Gryffindor and will decide your punishment. Get some rest Miss Weasley, your parent's will be here shortly." And with a flourish of her robes, Headmistress Mcgonagall swept out of the hospital wing.

Rose felt ashamed of her actions. She was usually quite level-headed and thoughtful, but when it came to competition, Rose was stubborn in her aim to prove herself that she was talented and not to be overshadowed by her cousins just because she was a _girl._

As Professor McGonagall opened the large oak doors of the hospital wing, Rose heard the distinct voice of her cousin's Albus, Louis, James and Fred immediately start firing questions, asking whether Rose was okay and if they could see her.

Madam Pomfrey answered indignantly, "Miss Weasley and Mr. Malfoy are to rest tonight, no visitors!" and with that she slammed shut the oak doors with her wand shutting out the voices of her worried cousins.

"Way to get us almost killed, Red," came a tired but still annoyingly sarcastic voice from her side.

Rose was still mulling over how disappointed Professor McGonagall was in her and couldn't bring herself to throw an insult back. He did save her after all.

"I… I'm sorry, you saved us and I got us in trouble and th-they called our parents and they're coming and I probably c-cost us so many points, and we probably got detention," she rambled, feeling her eyes well up with tears.

"Calm down Red," he said, not unkindly. "I overheard Benjamin and Madam Hooch raving about our flying skills. What's a couple of points when we're probably both going to make the team? What's Quidditch without broken bones? And besides, everyone loved it. " Scorpius sat up in his bed, wincing as he cradled his tender arm. He awkwardly smiled at her in an attempt to stop her from crying.

"I guess…" She said in a small voice, still worried about what her parents would say when they came. She wondered why Scorpius was being so nice. It was probably because she was Albus' cousin and Albus, along with all her other family members would murder him if anything happened to her.

"You know…" said Scorpius in a thoughtful voice, one she was not accustomed to. "You're an alright flyer. You did catch the Snitch after all. I mean, I could have pried it out of your cold hands when you fainted and taken the glory for myself but the way you almost killed yourself out there, I thought you deserved to at least get something out of it. What I'm trying to say is, you're not completely terrible at everything." He finished with a sniff.

"Um… thanks?" she replied, confused as to whether he had insulted or complimented her.

The two first years stared quietly at the glass ceiling above them, hearing the pitter patter as it started to rain. Rose wasn't accustomed to how nice Scorpius seemed, she didn't know what to say.

"I wonder how my parent's will react," said Rose after a period of silence.

"At least they're coming." Scorpius replied solemnly, running a hand through his white-blonde hair and staring straight ahead.

"How do you know that McGonagall didn't owl your parents?" she asked.

"She would have, but she would've told them I was okay, and my parent's will only come if I'm not okay." he said matter-of-factly. "I'll be getting an owl tomorrow morning from them, they hardly ever drop work to come look after me."

Once again, Rose didn't know how to reply, and she didn't have time to as the oak doors burst open and her mother was rushing through the hospital wing with her father in tow.

"They're not like your parents." he stated, shifting again in his bed to face away from her to give her some privacy as Hermione and Ron reached her bed and immediately enveloped her in a hug.

As Rose answered her mother and father's questions, she couldn't help but wonder what it was like to grow up in the Malfoy household.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Third Year

It was a foggy Sunday morning that day at Hogwarts, the rolling green of the school grounds were illuminated with the sun and the trees were swaying gently in the breeze. Rose sat with her brother and cousins under the shade of a large tree on the outskirts of the castle. Louis was playing a game of Wizards chess with Hugo while Lily was chatting animatedly to them about the upcoming Quidditch season and what kind of tactics her house was going to employ. Quidditch had been the hot topic lately, as the year had just begun and the first match of the season was Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw.

Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny were quite pleased, to Rose's surprise, that Lily Potter was sorted into Ravenclaw. Lily, who had been so upset with her split with her older brother and favourite girl cousin Rose was close to tears when Rose and Louis found her after the beginning of term feast.

" _I suppose it's not too bad," reasoned Lily, her voice trembling. "I mean I should really be proud shouldn't I? I was named after Aunt Luna for a reason," she smiled through her shimmering eyes._

 _Rose looked at her younger cousin with a small pang of sadness in her stomach, she knew that if it had been her, Rose would have been an emotional wreck. She remembered what the hat had said about her belonging in Ravenclaw and seeing her cousin now, Rose felt guilty for, ironically, not being brave enough to be different from the 'traditions' of the Weasley clan._

 _Hugo's sorting had also shocked Rose and it was a turning point in their relationship as Rose knew Hugo was growing up. Earlier in the year, her pensive and non-confrontational brother found himself perched on under the sorting hat, forming a small "O" with his lips in surprise when the Hat had announced "it better be… HUFFLEPUFF." Rose had felt her jaw drop just as it did for Albus and she felt tears swell in her eyes._ 'First Albus, then Lily and now Hugo…' _She had thought. Hugo had hopped off the stool uncertainly, gave her a sad smile and made his way over the Hufflepuff table where he had sat with Lysander Scamander._

 _She wasn't able to see Hugo before bed on the first night as the Hufflepuff first years had been ushered out of the hall by their prefects first, however the morning after, Rose waited anxiously to see her younger brother._

" _Oh Hugo!" She had burst upon seeing his ruffled auburn hair and freckled nose emerge from the corridors closest to the kitchens. She pulled him into a tight embrace and Hugo had to pry her arms off him before huffily replying "What's going on Rose?"_

" _Are you okay?" She asked concernedly, fixing his dishevelled hair and straightening his robes._

" _Geroff me Rose, stop being mum" he pulled away. "I know you're worried about me but honestly I'm fine!"_

 _His tone held a slight hint of annoyance and exasperation in his voice that Rose wasn't used to hearing. He usually agreed with most things she said and when he didn't he would only give her one of his knowing looks._

" _I honestly like being in Hufflepuff, I feel like I belong. When I speak, people listen to me and when I don't speak, people don't assume anything, it's different from being at home. I like it." He explained pointedly, no doubt referring to Rose's and her parent's habit of asking if everything was okay when Hugo sat in silence._

" _I just… was worried is all," replied Rose in a small voice, conflicted with how her younger brother was making her feel, "Mum and dad said I have to take care of you."_

" _They say the same to me too you know," He replied kindly, "I'm happy Rose, I really am. Plus, Lysander's been there for me, he's shown me around the common room and told me where the best study spots are and whenever I'm feeling like I miss you guys, he reminds me that you're always going to be there, and that I'm always going to be here. The only difference is that I get the warmer common room." He beamed at her._

 _Rose, feeling unsure of herself, had walked with Hugo back up the kitchen corridors and into the Great Hall, listening to him describe the cozy common room with a hint of envy. I did sound really warm and relaxing. She remembered realising that instead of her making sure Hugo was okay, he was the one reassuring her about their living situations._

" _You don't have to put up with my snoring anymore!" he chirped, waving her goodbye as he joined a friendly look bunch of Hufflepuff's for breakfast._

Rose didn't realise that she had been staring, lost in her own thoughts, at a particular silvery-eyed boy that was waving calmly at her, approaching from the direction of the castle.

"Lysander!" She beamed as he made his way towards them, holding a battered library book and reading spectacles. "Looking for a place to read?"

"Yeah," he answered back with a shy grin. "Hey guys," he nodded to the other Weasleys.

"I thought you would be at Quidditch practice Rose? Lorcan's been having practice all week it seems. I hardly see him around now besides breakfast and some classes." He said with a tone of sadness in his voice.

"Yeah," she answered. "James actually requested from Professor McGonagall if we could use the Room of Requirement for practice since the Ravens are hogging the pitch." She stuck her tongue out at Lily to signal that she was just teasing.

"We actually should head up soon. That bench won't warm itself." Louis said dryly. James had forced Louis to take a reserve Chaser position on the Gryffindor team even though her sandy-haired cousin wasn't interested in playing or sitting through boring pep-talks, drills or team building exercises. He did however, enjoy the attention he got from the status of being a Quidditch player.

Rose, on the other hand, had begged for James to make her the official Gryffindor Seeker but James was adamant that she was going to be the reserve this year. It was the current Seeker's last year and James mentioned that Scott Davidson deserved to finish with a bang.

"Yeah, let's go up," Rose said, packing up her quill and parchment, not realising that she had been gripping her quill so hard in frustration from thinking about how she wanted to play this year. She was trying to finish her star chart for Astronomy before practice so that she could have a relaxing night but it looked like it would be a long night.

"Sorry to leave as you just got here Lysander," Rose mentioned apologetically.

Lysander was still standing with his book and glasses in hand, contently watching the brutal finish that Hugo's knight delivered to Louis' King.

"That's okay. I was just on my way to the lake. I don't mind the quietness." He answered, looking dreamily at the still, black surface shimmering in the warm light.

"Oh come off it Lys," said Lily kindly, fake-rolling her eyes. "Stay and sit here with us, you can watch me avenge Louis." She waved her wand and the broken chess pieces magically mended and whizzed back into their starting positions.

"Let me show Hugo why they should call it ' _Witches Chess_ '."

* * *

"Alright you maggots!" boomed James' voice off the incredibly high walls of the Room of Requirement.

The room had transformed itself into an indoor to-scale Quidditch pitch for their practice session. Three metal hoops sat high in each far corner, as tall as the real ones on the grounds. In addition to the trunk sitting in the middle of the pitch which held all the balls they would need for practice, the floor of the pitch was transformed into a boot-camp style obstacle course. There were stacks of trunks, big metal rings resembling muggle car tires dummies resembling opposing Quidditch players and a mounted wall rack full of Quaffles and strapped down Bludgers.

James was currently marching back and forth as the rest of the Gryffindor team lined up with their brooms to their side.

"James, is 'maggots' really necessary?" Asked Daniel Haim, the tall and burly fourth year Keeper.

"That's it Haim, drop and give me twenty," James snapped back at the Keeper, who rolled his eyes. "And it's Captain Potter."

"James, seriously?" said Francesca Le, a pretty fifth year Chaser who, in Rose's opinion, James had a soft spot for despite his womanising ways.

"Right. Sorry. Got carried away." He stopped pacing and gestured above him. "But I mean look at this room, it is just epic! And it even gave me a clipboard, whistle and blackboard to sketch out tactics! McGonagall really hooked us up didn't she." He said excitedly looking at the rest of the thirteen players standing in front of him, most of which were amused at his antics or shooting

"Alright, fine! Pair up according to your positions and give me ten laps around the pitch to warm up. Reserves I want you to stick close to your player, really give them a run for their position."

All fourteen players, the main team and their respective reserves shot off into the room on their brooms. Rose was truly impressed with the scale of the room. Due to how open it was, James and the team didn't need to yell at each other as they usually do on the pitch to be able to talk. Their voices were bouncing off the walls without much effort.

"Rose!" came a deep voice behind her, "you've gotten a lot better since last year. Crashed into any trees lately?"

The voice came from what Rose could only describe as the most beautiful creature on the planet.

Scott. Davidson. Head Boy. Seeker. Tall and charming.

Rose turned her head to the demi-god riding his broom next to her as they entered their sixth lap. His black, perfectly tousled hair was whipping around his face in the wind. He had chiseled high cheekbones, soft, gentle lips and an incredibly straight nose. The best of all, according to Rose, were his deep green eyes which were currently looking at her in a cheeky grin.

Rose was reduced to a puddle of incoherent troll-mush every time he addressed her during practice. All she could muster was a ridiculous giggle at his jest. He was referring to the mishap in the Forbidden Forest last year that scored her a position on the team.

"Well keep it up, kid. You've got a lot of potential." He put on a burst of speed and shot down in a perfectly delivered dive before levelling out and skimming the bottom of the room with his toes.

"Nice one, Rose," drawled the sudden voice of Louis by her side. "Why is it that you've never got something clever to say when boys are around you?"

Rose chose to ignore her cousin and the blush creeping up her neck at his comment. She followed Davidson in his dive and dismounted just as she finished her tenth lap.

James was already waiting for the Gryffindor team once they landed down the pitch. He summoned over a large blackboard which had their tactics for the year planned out. Since their first match was with Ravenclaw, their tactic would be to delay catching the Snitch as much as possible to allow for them to gain a bigger lead to start off the season.

Rose was paired up with Davidson for a good portion of practice, he was teaching her how to maneuver a Wronski Feint and showing her the collect posture and hand placement, much to her delight. They were both flying high above their teammates who were closer to the ground, playing a broomless game of Quidditch (much to everyone's dismay) to practice passing and dodging bludgers.

The rest of practice was gruelling and intense. Her father was wrong when he said Uncle Harry had it easy, being a Seeker wasn't as simple as just catching the Snitch. James had gathered everyone up and made the team do intense exercises and fly obstacle courses to increase agility and stamina. Aunt Ginny had obviously drilled it into her eldest son that a good Quidditch player was a well-rounded one.

The Gryffindor team made their way tiredly out of the Room of Requirement, dragging their brooms and Quidditch robes behind them after hitting the showers that the room also supplied.

"Alright, so how about we go to the library to finish off our star charts?" Rose asked they both climbed through the portrait hole into Gryffindor's cosy common room.

"It's your lucky day Rose, I've already done mine and you can copy it if you like." Louis said with a smile.

"Sod off, I don't believe in 'copying'" Rose replied with a huff.

"Alriiight Aunt Hermione," he teased. "But while you're slaving away trying to figure out where Jupiter orbits, I'll be outside enjoying the last of my weekend."

Louis smugly looked at Rose's scowl.

Rose ignored his jest and stomped up the stairwell to the third year's dormitory to collect her homework.

* * *

Apart from the Quidditch pitch, Rose's favourite place on the Hogwarts grounds was the Library. It was a labyrinth of bookshelves looming over study tables nestled throughout the floor or perched by the stained glass windows. Some of these study tables were so well hidden that Rose enjoyed the isolation from the other students' scratching quills and occasional coughs and murmurs.

Rose was sitting at her favourite study table which was by one of the smaller stained glass windows overlooking the grounds. She had been lazily dipping her quill in her ink pot when she was interrupted by a dreamy voice.

"Hello Miss Waverly, enjoying studying on this fine afternoon?"

The Librarian Mance Blackthorn was an odd, yet interesting man in Rose's opinion. He was tall and lanky, with dreadlocks that reached just above his waist.

"Yes Mister Blackthorn, thank you," She replied kindly.

He had a kind face with bright green eyes and always seemed to be smiling at students, which he would never remember their names correctly.

"Oh please Miss Windle, call me Mance," he replied with a wave of his hand as he walked past her. He was lazily swishing his wand around to return books to their rightful place amongst the high shelves.

Rose's concentration went back to her homework as she heard muffled footsteps against the red carpet slowly approach her.

"Oh, hi Rose," came a familiar voice.

Rose looked up for the second time to see Scorpius Malfoy standing a few feet away from her study table, holding his own Transfiguration homework.

"Hi." She replied, unsure of how to talk to Scorpius after their accident last year and a handful of polite, but aloof conversations in the presence of Albus.

"Would you mind if I sat down?" Scorpius asked, fidgeting with a corner of his parchment. "I usually like to sit by this window."

"Oh, yeah, go for it," Rose stood up from her chair and gathered her things closer to her to make room for Scorpius opposite her.

Rose pretended to be absorbed back into her textbook that she was reading about the moons of Jupiter as Malfoy carefully set down his books, parchment, inkpot and quill.

"Did you have a nice summer?" Scorpius asked in a quiet voice.

"Yeah," answered Rose hesitantly. "Albus, Louis and I spent most of it playing Quidditch. We usually go out into the field behind Grandma's house to escape from the rest of the family."

"That sounds fun… Albus talks a lot about you two."

"That's because we're his favourite out of all the cousins." Rose answered, mimicking the smile that was on Scorpius' lips.

"How was your summer?"

"It was… uneventful, as usual. The highlight of it was honestly getting letters from Albus. And having that weekend with my parents at home when they both took work off." Scorpius answered, somewhat sadly.

Rose felt a pang of guilt in her stomach. She had forgotten that Scorpius was an only child, growing up in the Malfoy Manor. Her mother and father didn't talk about the Malfoy's a lot around her, but they did briefly mentioned that it was Malfoy tradition to only have one child. She couldn't imagine what it was like to be so lonely as there was hardly ever a quiet moment in the Weasley/Potter family. She imagined that Scorpius' parents worked too much to be home with him and she immediately regretted talking so much about her family.

"Maybe next year Albus could ask you to stay with him for a bit for the Summer?" Rose suggested confidently.

"We don't have another Seeker out of us cousins quite as good as me, so I wouldn't mind beating someone else for a change." Rose pretended to be cockily examining her nails, letting out an overly exaggerated sigh.

She shot a glance at Scorpius from across the study table. He was looking at her with his head cocked to the side and a big grin on his face.

"We'll see about that, Rose."

Rose snapped out of her playfulness and felt a blush creep up her cheeks. She averted her eyes and went back to her parchment. She didn't feel this way around Scorpius. He was Albus' best friend and they had hardly spoken to each other through the years.

' _What is this feeling?'_

* * *

 ** _A/N: I know it's been a while and I do apologise. Life got in the way, but I am back now with a couple of chapters already written so it won't be months and months until I update again (hopefully). This chapter is just setting the mood for the next and I wanted to introduce you guys to new people and the personalities of the Weasley/Potter clan. Please leave me a review, I'd love to hear what you think._**

 **\- SQ**


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